Electric fuse clamp



Filed May 31, 1941 INVENTOR firmamfjiamrgy Patentcd Feb. 10, 1942 ELECTRIC Fuss ciAMr Herman J. Hammer-1y, Plainville, Com, asignor to The Trumbull Electric Manufacturing Company, Plainvllle, Conn, a corporation of Connecticut Application May 31, 1941, Serial No. 395,947

13Claims.

My invention relates to a device for supporting circuit protective devices suchas fuses and relays having substantially flat blade-like ends and con- 'stitutes an improvement on devices of the character set forth in United States Letters Patent Numbers 2,168,016 and 1,851,249.

The main object is to provide a simple and rugged construction having great binding orgripping power and capable of carrying a maximum current load.

. Another object is to provide a construction of this character, the main part of which can be made out of sheet metal such as copper.

In carrying out the invention, I have provided a main body portion having four jaws arranged in two pairs spaced apart from each other so as to provide spaced supports-for both ends of the blade of a fuse. A longitudinal wall is provided between two of said-jaws and a conical clamping member is located adjacent said wall and adapted to be wedged between said wall and ..the inserted blade of the fuse so as to press against an intermediate portion of the blade.

The accompanyingdrawing shows the preferred form of the invention.

v Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing fuse clamps mounted on a conventional type of support.

' Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same showing one clamp loose and the other clamp tightened so as to provide the most efiective gripping action upon the insertion of a fuse blade. The positions of the parts at the tightened end are exaggerated in this view to. illustrate the action of the-clamp.

Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of one of the clamps and the fuse blade to be associated therewith.

P18. 4 is a plan view of a blanl: from which one of the-clamp bodies may be made. 1

Each clamp has a body portion formed of a single piece of sheet metal with a base I and corner posts 8, 9, Ill and II. The base is adapted to be. mounted on a support in any suitable manner. A longitudinal wall member I! is formed as an integral part of the post II and bent over so that its outer end rests against the edge I: of the post It so as to form an inclinedsupporting wall. The opposite edges l4 and I 5 of the posts 8 and 8 are inclined in an opposite direction so as to support the blade Ii of the fuse or other protective device. I

A wedging member ll preferably in the form of a frustum of a cone is mounted on the screw post l8 which in turn is screw threaded into the base I. In this form the clamping member constitutes a roller. This wedging member is adapted to press against the wall l2 and the blade l6 soas to force the blade against the edges l4 and I5 of the posts 8 and 9, respectively.

The eifect of this wedging action is to slightly bend the blade I6 and thus provide a secure and effective mechanical and electrical connection.

.The wall l2 may also be slightly sprung or bent in a similar manner by the wedging action of the member I! thus eifectively gripping the blade of the fuse and preventing its accidental removal or loosening.

It will be seen that the four posts or lugs constitute a sort of cradle for withstanding the thrusting action of the clamping member, thus forming a device which to a considerable extent is resilient rather than rigid.

The edges I 4 and I5 provide spaced apart contacts for one side of the fuse blade instead of a single central support formed by a rigid post suchv as shown in Patents Number 2,168,016 and Number 1,851,249. To a lesser degree, the bridging wall l2 may be resilient and thus afford a better gripping action for the cone or roller I! when the clamp is tightened.

The construction will also be seen to be of the skeleton form with the parts sospaced as to per mit fullest circulation of air and thus prevent over-heating.

I claim:

1. A fuse clamp formed of sheet metal and having four posts spaced apart in pairs with a bridging wall between two of the posts and a wedging 1 clampadapted to be forced between said bridging wall and the blade of a protective device whose endiss are supported on the oppositely disposed pos 2. A clamp for a flat-bladed fuse. having two spaced posts for supporting along spaced lines the blade of a fuse and means opposite the space between said posts for applying gripping pressure to a part of the blade between said posts.

3. A fuse clamp formed of sheet metal and having a base portion with a pair of spaced up-' to press against said wall and to clamp thebiade.

. of a fuse between said clamp and the upright ing surfaces of the posts and a wedging clamp between the. posts and wall and having a bearing surface extending parallel to the bearing surfaces of the posts and wall and adapted to press against said wall and to clamp the blade of a fuse between said clamp and the upright posts.

5. A fuse clamp formed of sheet metal and having four integral posts spaced apart in pairs with bearing surfaces angularly inclined to the vertical, an integral bridging wall between two of the posts and having a flat bearing surface angularly inclined with respect to the bearing surfaces of the two opposite posts and a wedging clamp having a bearing surface extendingparallel to the bearing surfaces of the wall and opposite posts and adapted to wedge the blade of a protective device between said clamp and the posts opposite the wall.

6. A fuse clamp formed of sheet metal and having four integral posts spaced apart in pairs and having bearing surfaces, an integral wall between the posts of one pair and having a bearing surface opposite the space between the bearing surfaces of the posts of the opposite pair and a wedging clamp movable between the posts and wall, the body portion of said clamp extending parallel to the bearing surfaces of the wall and of the posts opposite said wall and so arranged relative to said wall and posts as .to provide a sliding engagement with the wall and to wedge the blade of a protective device between the clamp and the posts opposite the wall.

'7. A two-part fuse clamp including a sheet metal base having a pair of spaced integral upright posts at one end and an integral upstanding wall with a substantially fiat bearing surface at its other end, a self-supporting wedging clamp having a screw threaded end adjustable in the base and a tapered rotatable head pressure portion having the pressure portion of its surface opposite to said wall and opposite to the space between the posts and extending parallel to the bearing surfaces of said wall and said posts, said clamp being movable toward the base for clamping a substantially fiatblade of a fuse between said posts and the adjacent parallel side of said tapered pressure member.

8. A fuse clamp including a sheet metal base having a pair of integral spaced upright posts at one end and having bearing surfaces angularly inclined to the vertical and an integral wall at the other end of the base having a flat bearing surface angularly inclined with respect to the bearing surfaces of the posts and a movable and adjustable wedging clamp on the base between said posts and wall adapted to slidably engage said wall and clamp theflat blade of a fuse placed between the posts and clamp.

9. A fuse clamp including a'sheet metal base having a pair of integral spaced upright posts at one end and having bearing surfaces and an integral wall at the other end of the base having a bearing surface inclined with respect to the bearing surfaces of the posts and a movable and adjustable wedging clamp on the base between said posts and wall adapted to slidably engage said wall and clamp the fiat blade of a fuse placed between the posts and clamp, said posts being substantially rectangular in cross section and the space therebetween being substantially the size of the diamemr of the body of the clamp aaraees whereby substantially line contacts are provided between the blade and posts and whereby a slight transverse bulge of the blade is permitted in the space between the posts.

10. A-fuse clamp including a sheet metal base having a pair of integral spaced upright posts at each end of the base, the posts at one end of the base being substantially rectangular in. cross section and having bearing surfaces angularly inclined to the vertical, a wall between the posts of the other pair of end posts and formed integrally with one of said posts and having a substantially flat bearing surface angularly inclined with respect to the bearing surfaces of the posts of the other pair and a movable and adjustable wedging clamp on the base between said pairs of end, posts including an elongated tapered body portion having a screw threaded connection with the base, said wedging clamp and end posts being arranged relatively so as to cause a sliding engagement of the wedging clamp with said well and a wedging action against the flat blade of afuse placed between the wedging clamp and the posts opposite the wall when the clamping member is operated.

11. A two-part fuse clamp including a sheet metal channel shaped base having a screw threaded opening, an integral post protruding upwardly from eachcorner of the upper edge of the parallel walls of the base, a wall member formed integrallywith the post at one corner and extending across the channel to the post on the opposite corner of the same end of the base, the surfaces of the posts on their inner edges on the elongated portion of the base being angularly inclined to the vertical and the face of said wall being angularly inclined with respect to the bearing surfaces ofthe posts on the end opposite the wall, and an adjustable wedging device movable verticallybetween the wall and the opposite pair of postsincluding a, screw member movable in the opening in the base, a tepered roller member loosely mounted on the screw member, said roller member having an elongated tapered body extending parallel to the bearing surface of the wall and of the posts opposite said wall and so arranged relative to said wall and posts as to provide a sliding engagement with the wall and to wedge the blade of a fuse between the roller member and the posts opposite the wall.

12. A clamp for blade end fuses or the like, having two spaced supporting portions adapted to contact one flat side of an inserted blade at two spaced places, and a means for applying pressure to the opposite fiat side of an inserted blade in a space entirely between, and in a directlon toward the common plane of, said supporting portions.

13. A clamp for the reception of a fiat metallic blade so as to make good mechanical and electrical contact therewith, including two rigid metallic supporting elements for making contact with one side of said blade at discrete points along the length thereof and means for applying to the other side of the portion of said blade lying between said supporting elements a we chanical force acting in a direction substantially normal to said elements and tending to force 

